photographic ramblings, wanderings and thoughts from a central california artist.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Close calls n' Big Sur.

The last 3 weeks have been a flurry of Emails, deadlines and lots of time staring at my monitor, it is scary how fast time can pass when your eyes are fixed on a computer. For some quick R&R and a little bit of AD work, I headed up the coast to Big Sur. Me and my good friend Guy Jones, who happens to be a 4x4 enthusiast decided to leave late in the afternoon and camp on the Ridge Rd. For those of you not familiar with the Big Sur ridge, it is a 4x4 only access rd that sits high atop the big sur hills, it is mainly used as fire rd access to get out of Big Sur, just in case. High above the fog layer and dismal conditions of the coast this road leads you straight to what might look like cloud 9 for a central coaster in the summer.

Around 10 pm we started on the road and climbed upwards for what seemed like an eternity. Navigating this rd in the dark and fog is not Recommended. Finally we reached clear night skies and it seemed like the most incredible night ever. Above the fog there was a warm summer air that was as still as could be, you could even hear your echoes through the canyons. When you finally reach the top there is an ocean of accumulated clouds below you reflecting back at you the moon and stars.

We drove for about 2 hours and looked for a camping spot. But about 2 miles before we got to our destination, we wanted to take a look at this tree with and odd shaped root system, we came up to the tree and in order to get the headlights closer we tried to climb the small embankment and get a closer look. What we didn't realize that the small embankment was not small and the truck we were driving did not have capable clearance. We were stuck, about to tip over in what seemed like possibley the Lamest situation ever. I have to climb out the passenger side window to balance weight evenly and as I clung to the window and front tire which was hung about 3 ft from the ground I realized this was not a good situation, we were on about 2 1/2 wheels with most the weight hanging on the front axle. Both of us made the realization that because of the roof tent that was on top of our vehicle , were were top heavy and off balance by about 2oo lbs. That was why we were so tipsy.

It was the military shovel that eventually came to our rescue, we had one lodged in the back of truck and decided to dig out the embankment under the tire, At the same time we propped the front left tire with a jack and pushed the truck over the jack, about 6 times we had to do this until the truck was more balanced... By this time is was 1:30, and were on a rd that gets seldom travelled.. Maybe once a day, so having someone drive by to help us was pretty much outta the question.

Finally we made camp around 2.. talk about some rest and relaxation. All in all it was a great trip with some even better memories.